Jews are drawn to what is known as galgenhumor – gallows humour – because it fits so perfectly with their history. An example: Two Jews about to be executed by a Nazi firing squad are asked if they have a final request. One says he would love to smoke a last cigarette. His companion quietly admonishes him: “Shush, Moishe. Don’t make trouble!”

There’s almost no era when this joke wouldn’t resonate with Jews in the Diaspora. It speaks to the invariable tendency of Jews to retreat into accommodation and exaggerated deference to political power in the face of overt anti-Semitism. Not all Jews, of course, but certainly it is a common trait in those appointed – often self-appointed – as the official voice of the Jewish community.

So it is no surprise that Canadian Jewry’s official voice, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and its Montreal subsidiary, the Montreal Centre for Jewish Affairs, expressed vigorous opposition to the Jewish Defence League’s launch of their new Montreal branch at a public meeting the evening of Feb 16. Hours before the event, Montreal Rabbi Reuben Poupko issued a formal statement on behalf of CIJA: “The JDL is a small marginal group that does not receive any substantial support within our community. By claiming that the Jews of Quebec need a rapid response team to anti-Semitic threats, the JDL is irresponsibly contributing to the creation of a climate of fear within the Jewish community.” Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, firmly on CIJA’s side, tweeted: “Message to JDL: You are not welcome in Mtl! The Jewish community doesn’t need the Jewish Defence League.”

I’d agree that the JDL is a small group, and not mainstream, but whether it is contributing to a climate of fear or responding to reasonable fears is certainly debatable. From the fulminations of those opposed to JDL, one might get the impression that this is a group that promotes violence, which it most certainly does not, or that the group is appropriating the responsibilities and powers of the police, which is also not the case. JDL marshals never carry weapons or initiate physical contact. They have never been involved in any violent incident. And far from setting themselves up as rivals to the police and other law enforcement agencies, the JDL supports and enhances their work. The proof is that they are on excellent terms with the Toronto police, CSIS and the RCMP, who have all benefited from JDL research and informed leads in combatting terrorism.

It was not the official Jewish community that got the infamous Holocaust denier and Judeophobe Ernst Zundel busted and returned to Germany. It was information turned over to Attorney-general Roy McMurtry by the JDL working in collaboration with Holocaust survivor Sabrina Citron that lost Zundel his mailing privileges, and subsequently to charges that stuck. It was not CIJA that got the despicably and overtly anti-Semitic Palestine House in Toronto defunded of their millions in grants; it was the JDL, through information they dug out and passed along to grateful government authorities. It is not CIJA that stands shoulder to shoulder in the streets with Jews protesting Hamas and Hizbollah supporters screaming “Death to Israel”; it is the JDL. It wasn’t CIJA that organized a counter-rally to the 2014 Toronto Al-Quds Day rally, whose members in 2013 had called for the shooting of Jews in Jerusalem; it was the JDL.

And as much as I trust the police to ensure basic law and order in demonstrations like the intimidating Al-Quds rallies, no police officer is going to stand beside me personally to face down the hateful words of anti-Semites in their hundreds. The JDL gives individual Jews the confidence to confront their enemies peacefully The JDL does not look for physical trouble. Their method is to keep watch and alert police to troublemakers. Far from fear-mongering, I call that confidence-mongering. And Jews need confidence, especially young Jews on campus today.

Its’ a funny thing about Jews. They hate violence and civil disobedience. That is, they hate it when it is deployed in their own interest. They have no problem with adopting civil disobedience and necessary violence when it comes to supporting the human rights and security of others. Jews flocked to Selma to support civil rights for blacks. Jews are in the forefront of the “free Gaza” movement, which involves both illegality and violence. CIJA doesn’t get worked up about that.

Anti-Semitism is on the rise everywhere, including Canadian Islamism-fuelled activist groups. Violence against Jews is a commonplace once again in Europe and could erupt here any time. The reflexive instinct of “official” Jews to say “Shush. Don’t make trouble” when one can actually see the rifles of the firing squad being loaded is to repeat a history of passivity whose horrible outcome should have ruled out such superannuated strategies forever. The JDL is filling – responsibly, prudently, judiciously – a necessary gap in a grey area that CIJA is unwilling, and law enforcement agencies aren’t equipped, to occupy.

National Post

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/02/18/barbara-kay-in-defence-of-the-jewish-defence-league/feed/6std2509891916_a167bd8279_o.jpgControversial Jewish Defence League to open new Canadian chapters in wake of violent protests over Gazahttp://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/01/controversial-jewish-defence-league-to-open-new-canadian-chapters-in-wake-of-violent-protests-over-gaza/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/01/controversial-jewish-defence-league-to-open-new-canadian-chapters-in-wake-of-violent-protests-over-gaza/#commentsFri, 01 Aug 2014 23:16:41 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=499401

CALGARY — Members of a controversial Jewish group are moving to open new chapters across Canada after increasingly tense and sometimes violent clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters in the past month.

The Jewish Defence League (JDL) said it plans to open branches in Calgary, Montreal and, potentially, Ottawa and Vancouver as tensions continue to rise in the shadow of the conflict in Gaza.

Protests against Israel’s offensive have sometimes taken on a violent and anti-Semitic edge. In France, pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested after Jewish-owned stores were targeted by rioters.

In Calgary two weeks ago, several pro-Israeli protesters were bruised and beaten when they were swarmed by protesters near city hall, a brawl that prompted TV commentator Ezra Levant to host a peaceful pro-Israel rally Thursday.

The city is also the hometown of several Islamic extremists who have died in conflicts in the Middle East, raising fears of radicalization and militancy being nurtured in Alberta.

Incidents like these have encouraged the JDL to expand its organization, said Meir Weinstein, the group’s national director in Canada.

“[They] should be a wake-up call because the level of anti-Semitism in France is unprecedented. You have a large [number] of Jews in France who are very concerned and they’re leaving and moving to Israel because of the level of violence in that community,” he said, comparing the protests to the persecution faced by Jews before the Holocaust.

Colleen De Neve/Postmedia NewsViolence broke out between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters in Calgary on July 18, 2014.

The JDL is not without controversy itself.

In its 2000-01 report on terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation described the group’s U.S. wing as a “violent extremist Jewish organization.” Members have been linked to numerous violent acts in the U.S. and Israel since the JDL was founded in 1968. In 2001, its leader was arrested and charged for a plot to bomb a mosque and the office of an Arab-American congressman.

However, Kahane Chai, which was also founded by Mr. Kahane, has been listed as a terrorist group by Public Safety Canada since 2005.

In Canada, the JDL has focused its efforts on protests.

The group opposes Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, which has become a fixture at Toronto Pride Parades.

Last month, several JDL members were allegedly assaulted by Palestinian supporters in Mississauga, Ont., after protests there turned violent. Police have charged two people.

Mr. Weinstein said the JDL had been inundated with calls in the past few weeks asking him to expand the organization. JDL officials will meet interested parties in Montreal this weekend and hope to come to Calgary within the month.

“First we’ll come up there and assess, but we’d like to provide more safety and security to the Jewish community,” he said.

The JDL had a chapter in Calgary in the 1980s that concentrated on rooting out a cell of white supremacists led by Jim Keegstra, an infamous Holocaust denier.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/01/controversial-jewish-defence-league-to-open-new-canadian-chapters-in-wake-of-violent-protests-over-gaza/feed/3stdJDL-1Colleen De Neve/Postmedia NewsAdriana D'Arcy/YouTubePolice blame Mississauga violence that sent a Jewish Defence League protester to hospital on both JDL and Palestine Househttp://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/07/police-blame-mississauga-violence-that-sent-a-jewish-defence-league-protester-to-hospital-both-jdl-and-palestine-house/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/07/police-blame-mississauga-violence-that-sent-a-jewish-defence-league-protester-to-hospital-both-jdl-and-palestine-house/#commentsMon, 07 Jul 2014 22:22:39 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=488852

Police have blamed violence outside Palestine House in Mississauga, Ont., which sent a Jewish Defence League protester to hospital, on both members of the JDL and supporters of Palestine House.

JDL demonstrators were protesting the abduction and subsequent slaying of three Israeli teens on Thursday, chanting and carrying signs condemning Hamas.

Police say the two sides pushed and shoved each other as the protest quickly turned violent. One person was taken to hospital with a head injury and a few others sustained minor injuries.

“It appears that these two parties had opposing views and were voicing their opinions in a public forum and unfortunately brought fighting to the streets of Mississauga,” said Peel Regional Police spokesperson Const. Thomas Ruttan. “Officers were trying to diffuse the crowds on the roadway and it got out of control.”

In interviews, members of each group blamed the violence on the other.

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The situation appeared relatively calm until a group of 30 motorcyclists showed up about a half hour into the protest. JDL president Meir Weinstein said some of them were JDL members, while others were part of the larger Jewish community.

“At that point the people from Palestine House ran over there and started swinging wildly with sticks and pipes,” he said.

Palestine House spokesperson Raed Ayad said he didn’t see any members of his group attacking JDL demonstrators.

He said the “biker gang” initiated the tension, which lasted about 20 minutes, by threatening Palestine House supporters.

“They started approaching the Palestine House in an attempt to intimidate the Palestine House community members, which they’ve done many times,” said Mr. Ayad. He said the JDL was looking for trouble by choosing to hold its rally outside their community centre.

“We wouldn’t hold a rally on Bathurst in front of one of the Israeli organizations just because we understand what that will do to the residential areas and the community,” Mr. Ayad said.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQMsriKKv6g&w=640&h=390]

A partial, shaky video of the event shows general pushing and shoving between the groups, and someone being hit with a stick carrying the Palestinian flag during a melee.

Two people were arrested during the clash, neither of which has been charged, and an investigation is likely still ongoing, according to Const. Ruttan. Mr. Weinstein said both people arrested were protesting with the JDL, but neither were actual members of the group.

He said the JDL brought about 130 protesters, while Palestine House countered with 200 supporters of their own, according to Mr. Ayad. They came to counter-protest the revenge killing of Palestinian teen Muhammad Abu Khdeir, allegedly by Jewish extremists in the region.

Between 30-40 officers, including those from the police’s tactical unit, were needed to calm the situation, according to Const. Ruttan. He said Peel Police have used a force of that size for a single incident just once or twice before.

Mr. Weinstein said the JDL chose Palestine House as its rally spot to also protest the group’s “radicalization.”

“We were there because the ideology of Palestine House is in sync with Hamas,” he said.

Israel has consistently maintained that Hamas is responsible and “will pay” for kidnapping and killing 16-year-olds Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaer and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrah on June 12.

“We want to see Palestine House shut down,” said Mr. Weinstein. “This is what they preach; hatred against anyone who supports Israel.”

In 2012, the Canadian government halted the funding it had provided to Palestine House for 18 years due to concerns about the program’s “pattern of support for extremism.”

But Mr. Ayad said Palestine House is a “cultural and education” centre that has never taken a political stance.

“We have never aligned ourselves with any political party in the Arab world,” he said. “Our major mandate is to assist Canadian Palestinian refugees when they come to Canada to be integrated into society here. Any Palestinian institute is going to have a political undertone. Our policies stand strictly with international law.”